John Poelstra is teaching Podcasting Jumpstart on Mondays in July. Here's a bit more about John and his passion for podcasting.

Why I'm Teaching This Course: Creating a podcast can be unnecessarily mysterious and complex. I want to change that for you by showing you a simple path to get you from "idea" to actual episode quickly. It's possible to get something basic up using just the computer you probably already own, and you can make really quality episodes with some small investments in inexpensive software and an external microphone.

Years ago I was drawn to podcasts and knew that one day I wanted to have my own show with no idea how I would get there. Over time, I managed to figure it out by cobbling together information on the internet, attending conferences, and experimenting. I want to help you cut through that tedious journey I took.

This course is hands-on by design because I want you move past the "ideas" and "theories" and make this a reality. You will graduate from this class by creating your first episode.

As the podcasting space has matured myths have grown up around the "right" and "wrong" ways to do a podcast. There are certainly unwise approaches, but I believe too much emphasis has been placed on perfection which discourages people from starting.

Who is the target audience: This course is for people who don't have a podcast, but have always wanted to have one or understand the process. It's also for people who are comfortable with a computer and curious to invest in learning more about podcasting.

This course is probably not for you if you have an established podcast or are hoping to learn advanced audio production techniques.

Why I Want to Make Podcasting a Reality for You: Creating and running my own podcast continues to feed one of my most important personal values of life-long learning and personal growth. Podcasting helped me to find my voice in uniques ways while also increasing my self-confidence. I believe it can do the same for you.